The Jacksonville Jaguars hired Liam Coen to be their new head coach this past winter after Coen helped Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield produce the best numbers, to date, of his career in Coen's one season serving as Tampa Bay's offensive coordinator.
Per the JoeBucsFan website, well-known NFL analyst Warren Sharp recently detailed in his "Sharp Football Analysis 2025 Preview" book how Coen differed from previous Buccaneers offensive coordinators Dave Canales and Byron Leftwich.
"Coen made the very smart decision to be pass-first on early downs to start games, something Canales and Leftwich refused to do," Sharp explained. "In 2024 in the first half, the Bucs ranked:
#10 in first down pass rate (up from #31 in 2023)
#5 in early down pass rate (up from #25 in 2023)This was a MASSIVE change.
And as a result, first half early down efficiency spiked:
#6 in success rate (53%) (up from #30 in 2023 with 34%)
#8 in expected points added (+0.04) (up from #28 in 2023 with -0.15)
#7 in yards/play (6.2) (up from #29 in 2023 with 4.6)"
Such a strategy resulted in the Mayfield-led offense becoming a top-five unit as Tampa Bay claimed the NFC South division title with a record of 10-7. According to ESPN stats, the 2024 Buccaneers finished the regular season ranked third in the league in total yards per game (399.5) and fourth in points scored per contest (29.5). As for Mayfield, he posted career highs in passing yards (4,500), passing touchdowns (41), completion percentage (71.4 percent) and passer rating (106.8).
Sharp also noted that Coen benefited from running back Mar'Keise "Bucky" Irving playing like a future superstar at the position as a rookie. Irving finished his first pro season ranked 10th in the NFL with 1,122 rushing yards and tied for 15th with eight rushing scores.
New Tampa Bay OC Josh Grizzard was the club's pass game coordinator under Coen last season. Grizzard will now be coaching an offensive roster largely made up of the same players from 2024, outside of promising rookie receivers Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson.
Coen seems to have left Grizzard a blueprint for building upon the success Mayfield and Co. enjoyed last season. That said, it will be interesting to see what changes Grizzard makes to Coen's scheme as a first-time play-caller.
